As soon as the Human Emperor Banner came out, I became the Lord of the Old Ones

Chapter 113 Return from Hell

Long Jianhuan sighed.

Xu Yan had only been at Rolling Stone Castle for two months, but he already trusted Leiliana so much.

It is conceivable that if the patrol really decided to label Leiliana as an accomplice of the big boss and completely destroy the Rolling Stone Club, what kind of trouble would be caused.

Fortunately, I made the right choice.

"Don't worry. We've verified her testimony and haven't found any evidence that she was involved in the kidnapping, trafficking, or illegal experiments against Alliance citizens. She knows nothing about the collaboration between Big Boss and the Black Dream Organization."

Long Jianhuan said, "As for her cooperating with the big boss to conduct secret experiments in the planned area, it falls into a gray area where good and evil are difficult to distinguish, and there are many ways to deal with it.

"Considering Leiliana's voluntary surrender, her leading us deep underground, and the rescue of numerous innocent people, including you, and her cooperation in obtaining a large amount of experimental secrets and core data, coupled with her contributions to Rolling Stone Castle over the past decade, and the practical need to maintain the economy and order of Rolling Stone Castle.

"The Underground Lab will definitely be closed permanently, but the Rolling Stone Club should be able to reopen under her leadership.

"The patrol team will be involved in the daily operations of the club, and Leliana will also maintain a closer relationship with the patrol team. Let's consider it as making amends and making amends for her mistakes."

There are also more hidden interests involved here.

Long Jianhuan felt that there was no need to explain it too clearly.

So as not to affect the glorious image of the Security Bureau and the patrol team.

Xu Yan didn't ask any further questions, but instead said with a happy expression, "So, Aunt Leiliana is okay?"

"If she doesn't degenerate into the next big boss, yes."

Long Jianhuan nodded, "It just so happens that after experiencing a series of dramatic changes, Ms. Leiliana is feeling a little down. Especially after seeing a large amount of core secrets from the underground laboratory and seeing how cruelly Director Monk's experimental team treats patients with spiritual erosion, she is on the verge of collapse and doesn't know how to face the wilderness refugees who trust her so much.

"If you have time, go and try to persuade her. She thinks very highly of you and says that if it weren't for your rebuke, she might have fallen into the abyss and brought about her own destruction.

"Besides, she admires your talent very much and said that if the Rolling Stone Club has the chance to reopen, she will immediately apply for a unique Supreme VIP card for you. She even wants to hire you as the Rolling Stone Club's special guest card maker!"

"None of this matters, as long as Aunt Leliana is okay."

Xu Yan felt relieved, "I will go visit her tomorrow!"

……

after one day.

This is the fourth day since the Rolling Stone Club closed its doors.

The magnificent hall was dim, no longer as bustling as before.

The priceless solid wood floors, the skeletons of ancient monsters decorating the walls, and the wreckage of out-of-control machinery were all dug up, and every crevice had been searched at least three times by the patrol team, revealing a mess.

Leiliana sat on the floor in the middle of the hall, with a dozen large cardboard boxes placed around her. Looking around at everything that had changed beyond recognition, she felt both strange and familiar.

The current Rolling Stone Club looks very much like when she just started from scratch and ran a small Lingka shop.

"The club hasn't been this quiet in a long time, and it hasn't been this clean in a long time."

Leiliana sighed softly and was silent for a moment before she couldn't help but laugh. "That's good. I can finally decorate the club exactly as I want."

She took out old items that had been covered in dust for many years from a large cardboard box and placed them in front of her one by one.

If the patrol team had not conducted a thorough and meticulous investigation of the club, these old friends who had been hidden in corners and forgotten for many years would never see the light of day again!

"This is the talisman pen I used during the first few years of running the Lingka shop. I think I picked it up from the garbage dump myself, polished it, and wrapped it with a leather string.

"This is a strange gadget a customer gave me. It looks like a short boy with bright eyes. He took the battle card I repaired and went deep into the wilderness to become a 'Vault Hunter'. I hope he's still alive.

"This is baking equipment. Oh, it seems like it's been a while since I baked cakes for the kids at the garbage dump. I've been so busy these past few years."

Leiliana buried her nose in the baking mold and seemed to be able to smell a faint sweet scent.

She lost both her parents when she was very young.

My last memory of my parents is the sweet little cakes they baked with their own hands.

After gaining a foothold in Rolling Stone Burger, she tried countless times and finally figured out the recipe that tasted exactly the same as she remembered.

Every time she went to the garbage dump to distribute cakes, watching the children wolfing them down with smiles on their faces was her most peaceful and joyful moment.

Leliana decided.

I'll go out and buy some raw materials later and bake a batch of small cakes for "Crazy Cat" Chris and the others.

"Hey, what is this?"

Leiliana pulled out a package with a rusty zipper from the bottom of a large cardboard box. A faint fragrance emanated from inside.

I remember now, it’s a makeup bag.

It was the makeup bag she used after she came to Rolling Stone, or more precisely, the makeup bag she used when she put on makeup for the first time in her life.

"Even refugees in the wilderness are still living people and should live like human beings."

Along with the stale aroma, these words lingered in Leliana's ears.

Sounds familiar, who said that?
Leiliana tilted her head and thought for a long time, her smile becoming stiff.

The big boss said so.

This bag of cosmetics was also given to her by him.

That was long ago, as distant as the old days.

Back then, Big Boss wasn't really Big Boss yet, but a white knight descended from the sky. Back then, Leliana was full of dreams: after making her first fortune in Rolling Stone Castle, she'd become a citizen of the Alliance, study in a big city, and become a legendary god-level card maker.

At that time, they were all very young and full of hope for the future. Although they had witnessed the ugliness of hell on earth, they were still confident that they could rely on their talent and hard work to carve out a path in this cruel world.

At that time...

Leiliana opened her makeup bag and unscrewed her lipstick.

After so many years, the lipstick has already cracked.

The powder has also become clumpy.

The makeup liquid is expired.

She is no longer young.

The corners of his eyes were covered with wrinkles that could not be erased no matter how hard he tried to cover them up, and there were scars on his cheeks from being beaten by the big boss.

Even the big boss, the white knight whom she once secretly admired, has become unrecognizable and died in an extremely ugly way.

But what does it matter?

Even if a woman is tortured and bruised by cruel fate, even if she has lost most of her courage and hope, a woman who is no longer young can still dress herself up beautifully.

In the dim and quiet hall, Leiliana hummed an ancient ballad from the depths of the wilderness, gently applying the long-dried lipstick on her lips while pondering the reconstruction plan of the Rolling Stone Club.

Without the connections and funds of the big boss, the club would certainly not be able to maintain such a large scale.

This is perfect, she doesn't like the mixed and chaotic environment.

In her opinion, it would be enough for the club to maintain half or even one-third of its previous size.

She prefers entertaining ordinary customers rather than dealing with wild hunters and desperadoes.

How about trying to poach Xu Yan from Xingxing Store to develop the civilian card business?

Oh, Li Tong, the owner of the Star Shop, is also an old acquaintance I met when I first came to Rolling Stone Castle. It seems a bit unkind to do this.

There are also the elderly, weak, women and children at the garbage dump. It is not a good idea for them to always work in such a dangerous and dirty environment.

Can we open a recycling workshop so that they can disassemble used cards in a safer and more efficient way, recycle extraordinary materials, and learn card-making techniques systematically from her? Who says that a second Leiliana or Xu Yan can't emerge from these garbage bugs?

These businesses have slim profits, and life is certainly not as comfortable as it used to be.

It doesn’t matter. What kind of suffering has she not endured?

The dim light suddenly flickered.

Leiliana looked up, then looked down at herself in the makeup mirror and exclaimed, "Ah."

She was a little distracted just now and turned herself into a monster.

Leiliana hurriedly smeared makeup remover on her face.

She looked at the mirror again, and the shadow that flashed past behind her frightened her so much that her hair stood on end and she jumped up.

The lights flicker again.

The strong stench penetrated my nostrils like the hair of a rotting corpse.

There was a malicious grin hidden in the heavy breathing.

Leiliana turned back tremblingly and saw the outline of "Big Boss" John Carter gradually emerging in the darkness, giving her a nightmarish smile.

"you you……"

Leiliana felt as if a rotting corpse was strangling her throat, and she was so nervous that she couldn't breathe.

The big boss is like a ghost escaped from the deepest part of hell.

His entire body was wrapped in three to five layers of thick bandages, and he looked bloated like a giant corpse.

His left eye socket was empty, with neither an eye patch nor an artificial eyeball. From the depths of the dark eye socket burst forth a deep-seated hatred, tearing apart the peace of the club and also tearing apart Leiliana's heart.

Beneath the wide hooded cloak, a blood-stained blade and the muzzle of a heavy double-barreled shotgun were revealed, firmly locked on Leliana's chest.

Black slime, not sure whether it was blood or engine oil, dripped onto the ground.

This was the only sound in the hall besides the beast's panting and rapid heartbeat.

"I didn't expect that I'm not dead yet?"

The big boss greedily sucked on Lelena's fear, his smile becoming increasingly cruel. "The lab was destroyed, the club was shut down, and the business we've worked so hard to build for over a decade is all gone. But you seem to be in a good mood, dear Lelena!"

Leiliana used up all her strength and took three deep breaths. Some color returned to her face and her eyes wandered around.

"Are you looking for this?"

The big boss picked up the phone from behind him, put it on the ground, and pushed it between the two of them with his toes.

He didn't even cut the phone line.

"Call the patrol now."

The big boss smiled, "That's perfect. I also have a lot of information to report to the patrol team!"

(End of this chapter)